


Losers and Lovers

by WritingEngine



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:27:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23185486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingEngine/pseuds/WritingEngine
Summary: Diversity exists everywhere.And eight teenagers happen to experience the same things, separate and together.
Relationships: Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon/Ben Hanscom/Eddie Kaspbrak/Beverly Marsh/Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris, Connor Bowers & Richie Tozier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Pay Attention!

Richie Tozier was the clown, the funny guy, the overall jokester in his classes.

After all, it wasn't his fault the classes were boring. The teachers, too.

"Mister Tozier, can you read the first paragraph for us?" Mr. Carson asked, and suddenly everyone was looking at the kid in the back.

"Uh, yeah." Richie picked up the book as he stood up, fixing his glasses and squinting. "...When I stepped out into the bright.. sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had..." He frowned, bringing the book closer to his face to read it better.

It didn't help.

"Stay at your own pace, Mister Tozier. We have enough time." Mr. Carson reassured him. Not many teachers had the patience to go through classes with the boy, but lucky for him, Mr. Carson wasn't like them.

Richie nodded and tried to continue. "...I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newton and home." He froze when he heard his classmates snicker.

 _"That's not what it says."_ One of them jeered.

 _"What is he, stupid?"_ Another added.

"Try again, Mister Tozier." Mr. Carson said, not noticing the students' change in focus.

"That's what it says." Richie remarked. "I read it right, Mr. Burns."

_"Ooh, the freak's talking back!"_

The whole class erupted in laughter after that one little comment, and the teacher, though still oblivious to what they were saying in the first place, tried to quiet them down. When Richie raised his hand, letting the book fall on his desk and scare some of the kids closest to him, the teacher dismissed him.

That wasn't the first time he was made fun of. It definitely wasn't the last, either.

He ran into the closest bathroom he could find, and turned on one of the faucets. He clipped his glasses over his shirt before splashing water in his face, trying to cool himself down. When he got upset, he didn't do anything violent - or that's what he thought of himself, anyway.

When a redhead teen left one of the stalls, she raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Uh, hey?"

"Shit!" Richie cursed and stumbled back before he fell, dropping his glasses in the process.

The redhead chuckled and shook her head. She got on her knees to pick up his glasses, holding them out to the strange boy. "Here, dumbass."

The boy watched her carefully before snatching the glasses, putting them back on. "Why are you in the boy's bathroom? You're a _girl_."

"This is the girl's bathroom."

_He messed up in class, had his classmates mock him, and he entered the wrong bathroom. Everything's turning out just great._

"Fuck." Richie muttered. "I'm sorry. Hey, I'll pay you a twenty if you say nothing to the teachers-"

"Woah, calm down. I don't want your money." The redhead paused. "I mean, I wouldn't _object_ on any other occasion, but you seem like a nice kid so I won't do that to you." She took out the cigarette she was hiding behind her back, and leaned against the wall before taking a brief drag. When she took it out, a puff of smoke came out. "What's your name?"

"Richie."

"Okay, Richie." The redhead took a longer drag before taking it out again, coughing near the end of letting smoke out. "My name's-"

The door slammed open, and in came another girl. Her hair was blonde and up in a ponytail, and her clothes were pretty, pink, and almost bright. "Beaverly!" She half-yelled, scaring Richie and making him move out of the way and stumble to stand up. Unlucky for him, she stopped and grabbed his arm. "What are you doing in the girl's bathroom, pervert?"

Richie's eyes widened. "What? I'm not-"

"I'm gonna have to report you to the principal for being a disgusting little pig."

"Leave him the hell alone, Greta." Beverly dropped her cigarette and crushed it beneath her foot, glaring at the blonde girl the entire time.

"What were you doing with a pervert in the _girl's_ bathroom, slut?" Greta taunted, slightly digging her nails into the teen's skin. "I knew you slept around, but in the _bathroom_ _?_ That's _so_ disgusting."

"That hurts, asshole!" Richie snapped, grabbing the girl's arm and trying to move it off of him. When she didn't budge, he resorted to one good technique - biting. And it definitely did the trick, because she let go and he stumbled back.

"It was horrible seeing you, Greta!" Beverly remarked as she grabbed the boy's wrist and ran right out of there. Coincidentally, the bell rang to dismiss the last period. "Talk about perfect timing. C'mon, Richie!" The redhead let go of Richie's wrist and ran faster, glancing back with a smile as the boy caught up.


	2. Speak Up!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you get when you mix glasses with someone who doesn't necessarily need them?

Bill Denbrough was just sitting in his last class, writing short fiction stories in his notebook.

It's not that he wasn't paying attention. If you asked, he would nod and smile and continue writing.

"Mister Tozier, can you read the first paragraph for us?" Mr. Carson asked, and Bill glanced at the boy he was seated next to.

Tozier picked up the book as he stood up, starting to read. Mr. Carson reassured the boy that they had plenty of time to go over, and when their peers started whispering and giggling, only then did Bill focus on the boy.

They never really talked to each other, much less interact, but Bill still felt bad that he couldn't just tell the kids to mind their business and shut their mouths. Even if he couldn't say it out loud, he could sympathize with the boy's difficulty to read.

"Try again, Mister Tozier."

"That's what it says. I read it right, Mr. Carson."

_"Ooh, the freak's talking back!"_

When the class erupted in laughter towards the student, Bill covered his ears and dropped his chin on his desk. He didn't want any part of what was happening in the room, and especially didn't want to get on the boy's bad side right off the bat.

Tozier was dismissed from the classroom by the teacher, and it gave Bill a sick feeling of guilt that he didn't step in or try to help the teen.

"M-Muh-Mr. Carson, can I use the b-buh-bathroom?" Bill asked. He didn't want to vomit in class, and he also wanted to help relief his sick stomach by checking on the bullied boy. He ignored the kids poking fun at his speech impediment, picked up his notebook and promptly left the class in search of Tozier.

At the last second, Bill caught a glimpse of Tozier entering one of the bathrooms. Problem is, he had no clue which one, so he went with the sure-to-be-right option - the boys' bathroom.

The last thing he expected to see was a boy sitting in a corner with a pool of blood around him. One thing he knew for sure was it wasn't the boy he was looking for.

"Are y-yuh-you okay?" He asked and kneeled in front of the teen, setting his notebook down. He liked being able to help, even if most of the time he had no clue how to do so.

"Go away." The boy huffed, shooting a glare at Bill as he slowly tried to move away from the latter. "You'll just hurt me, too."

"N-nuh-no I won't." Bill wanted to smile and say it was okay and that the boy was safe with him, but he didn't want to scare the teen or worry him.

The boy stared at the other teen, bringing his knees to his chest and sighing. "How do I know you aren't with him?"

"With who?"

"Henry Bowers."

Bill's eyes widened, feeling personally familiar with the name. "That's who hurt y-yuh-you? I'm not with him. I p-puh-promise."

Silence filled the lack of words on either side before the boy cleared his throat, holding his hand out towards Bill. "I'm Mike."

"Mike?" Bill repeated.

Mike slowly moved his back against the wall, moving his arm back. "Is that a weird name?"

Bill blinked a few times before shaking his head, grabbing and shaking the other's hand enthusiastically. "N-nuh-no! I l-luh-like it. It's cool." He paused, retreating his own arm and picking up his notebook. "I'm Bill."

"I like your name too, Bill."

The boys shared a friendly smile and gaze before standing up, Glancing at the pool of blood around the other, Bill realized he had no marks or anything on him.

"If, uh, y-yuh-you don't mind me asking..."

Mike nodded, watching Bill with a friendly expression. "Yeah?"

"Why's there b-buh-blood around you?"

Mike glanced at the blood pool before chuckling. For some reason, it made heat rise to Bill's ears. "It's just food coloring. I tried to vomit 'blood' on Henry to get him away from me. It, uh, kinda went back to me."

"Oh." Bill smiled slightly, entertained by the thought of Henry getting scared of blood vomit. Before either of them could say more, the bell rang to dismiss the students to go home. "W-wuh-wanna walk out together, Mike?

"I'll gladly take you up on that offer, Bill." After that exchange, the boys left the bathroom and made their way through the hall. Mike had an arm around Bill and nudged him forward to avoid bumping into people, and Bill just felt relieved he made a new friend that day. Even if bathrooms are informal.


	3. Be Healthy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning (TW): Fat-shaming. Please continue carefully or skip this chapter if this will trigger you. <3

Ben Hanscom sat in the back of Mrs. Douglas' class, staring at the clock above the teacher's desk.

He couldn't wait to get out and go to Derry's public library. He loved books just as much as he loved music, especially when he read while listening to some tunes.

"Miss Marsh, lift your head up." Mrs. Douglas said.

The redheaded girl sat in a seat diagonal from Ben, and he could tell the light beaming on her face while looking down was from her phone screen. Though he didn't like people who used their phones during class, especially while the teacher was just trying to do her job, he let it slide.

After all, he was a little intimidated by the girl. Maybe even terrified to the core.

"She's on her phone, Mrs. Douglas!" Some girl with a blonde ponytail pointed at the teen's phone, and earned a snarl from the girl as she lifted her head to look at the teacher.

Mrs. Douglas never had anything against anyone, including her students, but apparently Marsh was an entire exception. "Miss Marsh, this is the seventh time this week. And that's saying something, considering I only have you five days each week."

The teenager rolled her eyes. "And?"

"And?" Mrs. Douglas gasped in offense, which Ben didn't really understand. "I'm going to have to call your father if this behavior continues."

"It's my fault."

Everyone, even the teen, turned around and stared at the boy who said it.

Ben was standing up in his desk, slightly nudging it forward with his stomach when he did so. He had no idea who Marsh was other than his classmate, but something in him made him want to stand up for the girl.

"What do you mean it's your fault?" Mrs. Douglas asked.

"Yeah Balloon-Belly, what do you mean?" The blonde snickered, as did some of the class.

"I was texting her, and she was just trying to text me back." Ben lied. Marsh gave the boy a confused yet impressed look, glancing at the teacher. "If you're gonna still punish her, at least allow me to be punished with her."

The blonde her laughed. "Aww, the fatass is protecting his slutty girlfriend."

"Shut the fuck up, Greta." Marsh glared at the other girl, who stuck her tongue out at her.

Mrs. Douglas crossed her arms as she looked between Marsh and Ben. "Because you swore in my class, Miss Marsh, you'll be staying after school. _In detention_."

Some kids 'ooh'd and laughed at the punishment for the young girl. If looks could kill, they'd all be dead.

Ben bit the inside of his cheek, not knowing if he should risk getting detention or not. He wanted to help the redhead, but was she really worth the price of getting in trouble?

Hopefully his mom understands he did this out of pure good.

"Fuck."

"Mister Hanscom, I'm surprised to hear that kind of language from you."

Ben tried to ignore how severely disappointed the woman looked.

"I'm surprised he didn't start hurling out all the fries and burgers he's been storing in that big bubble of his." The blonde, who Marsh called Greta, snickered. For some reason, Mrs. Douglas let all of the witty comments slide, and it really pissed Ben off.

"No one asked, Greta." Marsh retorted, glaring at the girl once more.

"Yeah, Greta." Ben added, glancing at the redhead and smiling back at her small smile. "No one freaking asked."

"Mister Hanscom and Miss Marsh, you'll both be sitting in detention after school."

Marsh threw her arms up in the air, still holding her phone. "Sweet! Speaking of _my favorite place to be_ , how about I stop by the office and let them know?"

"Miss-"

Marsh mouthed 'thanks' to Ben before putting her phone in her pocket and leaving the classroom. Before she did, she made finger-guns and winked, saying "See ya, suckers" as she left.

Ben felt happy in himself that he was able to make a friend. He sat back down and smiled to himself, being able to fully ignore everyone else taunting him for sticking up for the girl. As long as she was safe and his friend, that's really all he cared about in that moment.


	4. School Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning (TW): Homophobia + racism. Please continue carefully or skip this chapter if this will trigger you. <3

Walking out of the school building, a tall teen wearing a mullet pushed Bill and Mike over. Surprisingly, Henry's gang wasn't with him to back him up.

"Oops. You should watch where you're going next time." Henry said, holding both hands out to the boys. "Here, let me help you."

The pair shared a look before reaching for the older teen's hand, but he crossed his arms and laughed at them.

"You queers really thought I'd help you? _Wow_."

"Here, Bill, let me help." Mike slowly stood up, pulling his friend up with him. He hung his arm around him and stepped back from Henry. "Leave us alone, Bowers."

"Oh, I'll leave you alone, Burrhead. I'll leave you alone in your queer fairyland!" Henry half-yelled, gathering the attention of passer-bys and somehow no adults. Soon, a crowd of students gathered around the three boys.

"L-luh-leave us alone." Bill replied, trying to move in front of Mike as if he had to defend him.

"What'd you s-s-say, B-B-B-B-Billy?" Henry taunted, getting up close to the boy's face. "Dumb stuttering freak."

A boy with curly brown hair entered the scene, getting a front row view of the situation. "What's going on?"

"Looks like the Jew wants to rumble!" Henry announced as soon as he saw the boy. Before said boy could leave, Henry yanked his arm and pulled him into his spot as he stood with the audience. "Fight the little queers if you value your fucking life, Jew!"

"What?" The curly-haired boy blinked a few times, trying to process what was happening. He looked at the two boys in front of him, glancing at Henry.

"You're with him, aren't you?" Mike asked, taking a step towards the boy. It was the same tone he used when he met Bill, who stood tall beside his friend.

"What? No. No, no, no. I don't want any part of-"

Mike gently pushed Bill back and swung aimed his closed fist at the supposed threat, trying to hit his chin at least. The boy ducked and glared at the former. "What is _wrong_ with you?" He huffed, almost offended from the attempted attack. The problem was more about the fact that the other kids were encouraging the scene, with several people betting on either side to come out the victor. Even Henry played into it, wanting anyone to beat the curly-haired boy up for god knows what reason.

"M-Muh-Mike." Bill muttered, trying to grab his friend's arm and pull him back. It failed. He frowned and crossed his arms, hoping the verbal tactic would ease things. Even if it was a fight and the kid almost got knocked out. "I don't w-wuh-want to get in trouble, and y-yuh-you shouldn't either."

Mike felt confused and frustrated, half-glaring between Bill and the other boy. "He's asking for it, Bill! He's with Henry!"

"I don't _like_ Henry, and I'm not part of.. of his weird gang!" The boy yelled, clenching his fists. His face was a pale red, and his voice caught both boys' attention. The audience even gasped in surprise.

Not a moment later, Henry glared at the boy and grabbed his shirt collar from behind, turning him around. "What the fuck did you say, flamer?"

"Your gang's stupid." The boy spat, not an ounce of regret in his face or tone. Mike felt relieved, as did Bill. The boy half-expected to have his lights knocked out, but the older boy released him and walked away. Glaring at the older boy's back for a few seconds, he slowly walked towards the two boys. By the time Henry began leaving, so did the audience. "Still gonna punch me?"

The two boys shared a look. Mike crossed his arms with a slight smile. "You know, I changed my mind. Welcome to the I-hate-Henry club." He held his hand out towards the boy. "I'm Mike."

The boy stared at the other's hand for a moment before looking at him. "This isn't a trick, is it? No buzzer's going to hurt me?"

"That's something Henry would do." Mike replied. "We're not like him, so don't worry about it."

"Okay, Mike." The boy shook his hand, glancing at Bill. He mimicked Mike's smile after a second, holding his own hand out to the quiet kid. "Nice to meet you."

Bill didn't smile or take the boy's hand, which upset him a little before he let his arm fall. "Hi. I'm B-Buh-Bill."

The boy nodded slowly and tried to play it off by putting the lone hand in his pocket. "Well, Mike and Bill, it's nice to meet you. I'm Stan."

"You're a good person, Stan." Mike smiled at the boy, who smiled awkwardly back. "Do you wanna hang out with me and Bill? I don't want almost punching you to be the only thing you know me for, you know?"

That got a chuckle out of Stan, who nodded. "I get it. And sure, if your boyfriend's okay with that."

Mike's face flushed, glancing at the boy beside him. Bill faked a cough into his arm, trying to ignore how heated his ears became.

"We, uh, aren't dating, Stan."

"What? Oh, _shit_ , I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, don't worry about it!" Mike said quickly. "We actually just met today, just like you only met us today." He paused for a moment before turning, wrapping an arm around Bill. "We better go, yeah? I know a place we can relax."

"Y-yuh-yeah."

"That'd be great."

Stan walked on the other side of Mike, who gladly wrapped his free arm around him, holding both boys close. Something made the boys feel on top of the world. But they just didn't know what.


	5. No Rest For The Bullied

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning (TW): Homophobia with slurs

"I'm telling you, he stood up for me."

"You sure he wasn't just doing it 'cause you're a pretty girl?"

"Oh hush."

Beverly stopped walking and grabbed Richie's arm to stop him as well. She pointed at the chubby boy walking out of the building, and whispered to the boy. "That's him."

"Yo, Hanscom!" Richie yelled, waving frantically and grabbing the other's attention. He waved the boy over, and he hung his headphones around his neck before walking to the pair. "Bevvy here tells me you dropped the F-bomb in class for her. That true?"

"Oh, uh..." Ben nodded slowly, trying not to look the girl in the eyes. "...yeah. I don't like bullies, you know?"

"I'd hope that's the case, or it'd be _really_ awkward to invite you to come with us." Beverly joked.

"With you?" Ben repeated. "You wanna hang out?"

Beverly smiled at the boy. "You tried to save my ass in there, kid. It's the least I can do. And so I'm not the only one _suffering_ Richie's long talks."

"You love me, Bevvy. Admit it." Richie teased, poking the other's cheek and laughing when she swatted his hand away. Refocusing on Ben, he adjusted his glasses. "My name's Richie. This is Beverly, but I'm sure you knew that."

"I, uh, didn't know her name until now. But it's nice to meet you guys." Ben smiled sheepishly. "My name's Ben."

"Can you swim, Ben?" Beverly asked as she started walking away from the school. Richie followed after the girl, and so did Ben. "The place Richie's been telling me about has water, and it's just a good thing to keep the conversation going."

"I haven't been swimming since I visited my aunt's house, but I wouldn't mind doing it again." Ben admitted, watching the redhead carefully. In the class, she talked back to the teacher and had a bad relationship of some kind with the Greta girl. But seeing her in a different light, she seemed happier and more carefree. It was like she turned into an entirely different person, and Ben thought it was nice to learn she wasn't just some hard-headed spoiled brat.

Patrick Hockstetter, Henry's closest bud in the gang, chased after three teenagers. He laughed wildly, but it felt weird seeing him without the actual gang around, especially the leader. "Get back here, faggots!"

"Not that asshole again. Come on!" Richie wasted no time when he started running after the taller boy, not even glancing back at the two others.

"Who is that?" Ben asked, glancing at Beverly and their friend who left.

"Patrick Hockstetter." Beverly grabbed Ben's hand with no warning, and ran after Richie and the other boys. "He blowed Henry once and they're super close."

Ben kept up with the redhead, blinking a few times. "He's gay?"

"I don't know, dude. I don't spread gossip. I just listen and make fun of it." Beverly huffed, staring at Richie's back as they ran. "Richie! Hold on!" Her friend didn't wait for either of them, only picking up the pace. "Damn it."

When Patrick and the boys ran through a tree-covered passageway, Richie slowed down to a stop and told the other two to hurry up. After waiting for them to catch up and stop behind him, he gestured to the passageway. "They went this way."

"What are we even going to do if they're still there, Rich?" Beverly asked, not realizing she was still holding the boy's hand. "Patrick's just as unstable as Henry is. He could be armed for all we know."

"I don't want the people he's dicking around with to get hurt, Bevvy. And I know you don't want it to happen either."

Beverly fell silent and looked at the ground, causing Richie to roll his eyes and go through the tree branches in the way. She squeezed Ben's hand before following after the boy. Past the tree branches was a cliff that led straight down into a Quarry if you took a dive. Patrick slowly inched towards the three boys, who were getting closer to falling off the cliff into the water.

Barely thinking, Richie picked up two rocks and chucked them at the back of the older boy's head. One hit his neck, and the other got his head. "Leave them alone, asshole!"

Patrick turned his head and glared at Richie. "You wanna save these fairies, little faggot boy?" He taunted, grinning and laughing. As soon as he took a step towards Richie, the redhead chucked two more rocks at him. "What the fuck, slut?" He snarled.

"You fuck with one of us, then you fuck with all of us." Beverly retorted, throwing two more rocks at the boy's face. They left small scratches on his cheeks, but even with the minor injury, he was more than pissed.

"You give it a try, Haystack." Richie said, pouring four rocks into the quiet boy's hand. He gave a small nod before throwing his own rocks at Patrick, and Beverly and Ben followed through.

The three boys scattered out of the way, moving to stand alongside the other three. They watched each rock cut the boy's face as he slowly stepped back, inching closer to the edge of the cliff. It just encouraged the three to keep chucking rocks at the boy. Richie wanted to make him fall into the water and get hurt, Ben just wanted to fit in, and Beverly wanted revenge on the bully.

"Blow your best friend, assface!" A short boy wearing shorts and a fanny pack pushed past the group, pushing the taller boy off the edge. He coughed into his arm before unzipping his fanny pack and taking out an inhaler. He inhaled and exhaled a few times as he shook the inhaler a couple of times, removing the cap and pressing the canister down once he put the spray in his mouth. After taking it out and putting the cap back on, he zipped it back into the fanny pack and turned to face the six shocked teenagers. "What?"

"You just pushed Patrick fucking Hockstetter into the water!" Richie said in disbelief, running a hand through his hair.

"Holy fuck that was cool." Beverly added.

"That w-wuh-was awesome." Bill threw in his two cents, blinking a few times.

"Who are you?" Mike asked, watching the boy and trying to process what just happened.

"Eddie Kaspbrak." The short boy said, glancing between all of the teenagers. He didn't know why they were in awe.

"I'm Ben." Ben replied, smiling and shaking Eddie's hand. He stepped back to let the others do the same, all introducing each other. They learned the three boys being chased by Patrick were named Bill, Mike, and Stan.

Richie looked at Bill. "You're in my class, aren't you? You're the stutterer."

"Uh, y-yuh-yeah I am."

"And, um, you're in my class." Ben said, looking at the only girl of the group.

Beverly paused before nodding with a smile. "Right. You dropped an F-bomb in class for me. ...How'd you get out of detention so early?"

"My mom handled it for me."

After a moment of the five teens getting to know how they recognized each one, in bathrooms or in class, none of them recognized the short boy.

"How come we've never seen you around, Eddie?" Stan asked. Everyone watched the boy carefully for an answer.

Eddie looked between all of them before crossing his arms. "I visit the nurse's office a lot."

Richie raised an eyebrow, looking the smaller boy up and down before fixing his glasses. "So she can do freaky body check-ups or what?"

"What? No. That's weird."

"So you _don't_ have wet dreams for the nurse?"

Bill, Ben, and Mike shared disgusted looks with each other, while Beverly and Stan shared looks of amusement.

"That's _gross_ , Richie." Mike remarked.

"I can't be the only one, can I?" Richie joked, grinning at the other teens. "She's hot!"

Bill shook his head. "I'm w-wuh-with Mike on this one. That's gross."

"You would _totally_ let her blow you, B-B-Billy." Richie taunted, not instantly catching the other's expression fall. "What? Can't take a joke?"

Mike reassuringly patted the other boy's back, shooting a glare at the boy with glasses. "It's okay, Bill. He's joking. _Right, Richie?_ "

Richie glanced at the other teens before shrugging and crossing his arms. "Sorry, Bill." When Bill said nothing, Beverly bumped the jokester's shoulder and tilted her head towards the former. Richie watched her for a moment before sighing dramatically, stepping forward with his arms out. "Bevvy wants us to hug it out."

"I don't l-luh-like hugs." Bill whispered, looking at the ground.

"Too bad. I do!" Richie stepped forward, ignoring the boy's protests, and wrapped his arms around him.

"Group hug!" Beverly yelled, wrapping her arms around Bill from the opposite side of Richie.

Soon, each boy joined in. Mike, already close to Bill, simply wrapped an arm around him because he couldn't squeeze through the piling teenagers. Ben managed to hug at least three of the teenagers, smelling strawberry conditioner from one of them. Eddie and Stan shared uncomfortable looks before getting pulled into the hug by Mike, who had a free arm, and Ben, who seemed the happiest to be in the group hug.

"Y-yuh-you guys are squeezing m-muh-me!"

"Oh, _fuck_." Richie cursed.

One-by-one, the teenagers piled off of the hugging target, watching him to make sure he wasn't turning all kinds of colors. Thankfully, he just happened to be somewhat pale from the air the other teens' arms took from him.

"Do you guys think Patrick's out of the water yet?" Ben blurted out, glancing at the Quarry below. There was no sign of the older boy anywhere. "I kinda wanted to swim."

"In this weather?" Eddie scoffed. "You could get hypothermia, Ben!"

"Hypo-whattia?" Richie asked, blinking a few times. As soon as Eddie opened his mouth to answer, the former continued. "Sounds made up. Anyway! I think we can pass on swimming. No way I wanna swim with the guy who sleeps with Henry's dad."

"I thought he blew Henry once?" Ben asked, glancing at the redhead. "That's what Beverly said."

"I said it was a _rumor_. I never said it's true. ...But, I mean, it could be."


End file.
